Category: Health & Fitness

In the senior white belt attendance card, there is a question the students need to learn–why do we take promotion tests?

The answer to this is pretty simple and is applicable to almost anything in life that involves tests. Here’s the answer…

There are three (3) things to keep in mind regarding why we take promotion tests:

To get better. We get better because in preparing for a test, we practice–a lot. This practice gives us more experience and lets us become better through repetition.

To gain confidence. When we test, we have to stand in front of our peers and an audience. The fear of that and messing up is enough to really make you nervous; but with practice and focus, you will gain more confidence in front of others.

Let a qualified judge determine if we get promoted. Promotions in martial arts require that judges determine if you are proficient enough to take on the next rank. If you pass, you will move on to the next belt and new challenges.

If you are up for the next promotion test, keep these three things in mind.

Some students love sparring and some don’t. Regardless of which side of the aisle you’re on, sparring in martial arts serves an important purpose.

Before we get to what that is, it is important to know what we practice in the classroom so that you can have a better perspective into this subject matter. In class, we learn many things. Here are the core of what we learn:

Breaking techniques: a board breaking part of the curriculum to practice accuracy, balance, power, and speed using specified techniques

Step sparring: a prearranged set of attack and defensive techniques which allows the student to discover and learn timing, distance, and technique execution in a safe way

Forms or Poomsae: a set of combinations placed in a sequence creating a routine pattern; it promotes balance, power, combination technique execution accuracy, as well as a means to perpetuate technique knowledge commensurate with the students’ skill level

Self-Defense (for teens and adults): students learn how to defend against certain types of common attacks

Free Sparring: following a set of rules, students are allowed to free spar; students wear protective gear and are generally allowed to only hit a certain part of their protective torso, and occasionally for mature black belts, contact to certain parts of the head; in most cases, the former is where contact is allowed for safety reason.

Free sparring is the most unique in all of the physical activities above. What makes it unique is unpredictability. Compare that to breaking techniques, step sparring, forms, and self-defense. In all of these activities, except free sparring, the situation is predetermined–no surprise.

Free sparring provides an ever changing situation, that is, your opponent is moving constantly whereas in other activities, the situation is pretty much static. This isn’t to say that the other things don’t serve a purpose–the all do. All aspects of our training provide a purpose. However, this article is here to identify to the reader why sparring is important.

It is in free sparring that the student is able to put into practice everything they have learned in a more chaotic situation. This is where the repetitive nature of practice comes into play. The repetitive practice is what is infused into the students’ instincts. In free sparring, things happen fast. There is no time to think. It is the students’ instincts that take over. You see, when a student starts to think about what they are going to do in sparring, their reaction time slows down. It is the instinctive student who has properly learned techniques who will triumph in a free sparring match. It is the instinct that will help the student defend themselves should the need arise.

So you see, free sparring helps the students hone their defensive instincts.

If you have any thoughts about sparring and the ideas presented above, please feel free to share by commenting below.

There is a question on our student’s knowledge list that asks “What’s the most important tool in life?”

The simple answer is “goal setting.”

We are now in the middle of the first month of the year–January 2016. By this time you should have 1 to 3 goals already set for the year.

Here are some thoughts about setting goals:

Set no more than 3 goals for the year–anymore and you will be out of focus.

Set goals that are realistic.

When making a goal statement, it is best to state something that you are going to do versus something you aren’t. For example, you might say that this year, I will stop drinking soda. Instead, state that you will drink more water. This replaces the bad habit of drinking soda, which is what you really want.

Make sure to pick worthwhile goals.

Why is goal setting important?

Without a goal, a person can go through the year without direction or purpose. Without direction, it is difficult to achieve anything. Goals help us focus. If you keep you goals in mind, it will help you take action towards achieving them.

Background

This is an account of a half marathon I did on 01 Nov 2015. I didn’t prepare for this run. On top of this, my left foot ankle felt sore, and I put on a pair of shoes I’ve never used in a training run before (i.e. new pair of shoes). It was Halloween the night before, and so I stayed up late–sleeping past midnight.

All these things didn’t align with running a 13.1 mile course. In this article, I will share with you the result of this run.

The Result

I completed the run in 2 hours and 17 minutes (2:17:36 to be exact).

The weather was mild, but got hot after one hour of running. My Nike Air Pegasus 30 actually held up well–meaning that it felt great and its newness was not a factor in my run. As a matter of fact, it helped keep the soreness on my left foot and ankle under control. It felt very comfortable, and it felt great over the varied terrain (concrete, asphalt, dirt, and gravel) the run presented.

My lack of training really kicked in at around mile 7. There my pace started to leave the sub 10 minute pace and into the 10+ and 11+ range.

Mile 6 to 7 Splits

Below is my splits chart. It has more pace data point and provides a visual on where things went south for me. At point 1 below, my pace just started to go up almost linearly over distance and reached a plateau of 11:40 pace at around 11 miles. Coincidentally, 5 miles was probably the longest distance I have run recently in my sparse running schedule.

Conclusion

The are three things you can conclude from my half marathon experience.

It is possible to get a new pair of shoes that would help reduce the effect of some form of injury on a run. The injury wasn’t bothering me enough that I could not run.

Even without training for a half marathon, you can complete one. Especially if you are in good heath.

Without training, your body isn’t tuned enough to handle the prolonged run. In my case, my pace degraded after mile 5, and settled to a pace that I could maintain to the end.

If you think this was useful, let me know. If you have had a similar experience, please share by commenting below.

How you feel about things around you really depends on how and what you think. And how you think about things can impact your health.

There has been a lot of studies that link better health to positive thinking or optimism. At the Mayo clinic, they discuss how one can reduce stress by positive thinking. As most of you know when you are depressed or stressed out, your health level goes down, and your immune system suffers–making you more susceptible to getting sick. Just check out this article from the American Psychological Association titled “Stress Weakens the Immune System“.

The truth of the matter is, what you truly think depends on what story you tell yourself when interpreting a situation or event. Thus, if you want to be healthy tell yourself good positive stories about the situation or event in front of you, and you will find yourself feeling better.

This week, our focus is on Taekwondo’s last tenet–“Victory“. Victory stands for positive mental attitude. Please think of situations that have caused you mental grief and figure out how you can change the story you tell yourself in order to shed a more positive light into the matter. After all, there is a positive and negative to everything–you just need to focus on the positive.

On a popular social networking Internet site called Facebook, as I write this essay, there are currently 12,904 members that have joined “I’m a Black Belt in Taekwondo.” My guess is that many of those black belts were asked the same above question as one of their requirements before obtaining their black belt in Taekwondo. Furthermore, when you google the exact above question (Webster dictionary finally made “google” an official verb), you will be able to read all the different responses for many days as the search will give you 1,740,000 results. If you google “what black belt means to me,” you will get 4,160,000 results. In reading a few of the posted answers I realized that each person went through different experiences in reaching their black belt. Therefore, at the end, it appears that everyone has a different opinion about the meaning of being a black belt. When you compare some of the answers posted, only a few writers really try to answer the question “what it means to be a black belt.” Instead, one can not help but notice that most writers are telling their stories about their journey in finally obtaining the black belt in Taekwondo. Possibly, one of the reasons is that most writers obtained their black belts at a young age. At younger age, it is more difficult to understand what being a black belt truly represents. My grandfather was a life long practitioner of Kumdo reaching 9th degree and served in Korean athletic development in many capacities. Now he is mostly remembered as a founding coach of a Kumdo team at a major university in Korea (http://medikumdo.com). He wrote an article which said that martial artists not knowing the meaning of “Do” are just simple hoodlums that learned how to wield a stick. He stressed that the meaning of “Do” should be realized by all of us and practiced not just inside the dojang but more importantly outside in our daily lives. Furthermore, he emphasized that we are never perfect but constantly striving to reach that perfection. He said, possessing those characteristics and attitude constitutes a true martial artist. Similarly, Casimir Loeber wrote,

“In my opinion, there is a huge difference between being a black belt and having a black belt. A black belt is after all a black piece of cloth that is tied around ones waist. On the other hand, being a black belt is something profound that represents who you are to the core. With enough effort almost anyone off the street can work out enough to accomplish the physical feats associated with having a black belt, but if takes someone truly special to embody what being a black belt represents. A black belt represents the never ending quest to perfect your mind, body and soul; to treat others and the world with respect and to hold you to the highest standards possible.”

Although written many decades apart and at two extreme ends of the earth, Mr. Loeber’s and my grandfather’s article tell the same inherent message. Mastering the physical techniques is required in order for one to advance in ranks to reach the black belt. Many hours of dedicated training will transform a student to perform physically at the level that is expected of a black belt. But one must at the same time learn and understand “The Way of Taekwondo,” the “Do” portion. Striving to apply the tenants and commandments of Taekwondo in our daily lives is very important. Understanding what the true meaning of being a black belt is just as important as knowing how to execute the poomse to perfection. Therefore, I believe that being a black belt means that one sets an ultimate goal of trying to reach that perfection of the mind, body, and the soul. Most professional athletes retire before reaching 40 years old. The physical demands of a sport will take a toll on an athlete’s body. Soon, one will realize that they can’t compete at the level that they are accustomed to or wanting to. When an athlete realizes this fact, they will usually hold a news conference and tearfully announce to the world that they will quit. Achieving the goal of a black belt in Taekwondo has taken me 6 years. I will be turning 48 this year. I can remember many days that I was so sore from training that I could barely walk. Adam Aronson wrote,

“I have always believed that difference between a black belt and a white belt is the black belt just did not quit. This is to me the most important meaning black belt and the reason why I am still pursuing it.” (http://www.mhka.com/index.php/black-belt-essay-mainmenu-52)

Not quitting and reaching the black belt has made me feel younger and my body stronger. Becoming more flexible has alleviated many aches from simple daily tasks. The confidence that I have gained allows me to feel more youthful in spirit. The realization that you are coordinated enough and that you can control you body to perform Taekwondo techniques gives you an increased sense of empowerment. Being able to train in Taekwondo with younger classmates has been a blessing. The grimacing faces of the fellow students next to you as you stretch and cheering each other as we spar will always be cherished. Because I will continue to tie the black belt in dojang means that camaraderie we share with each other will continue. Finally, the sense of improvement I gain from day to day as I train further is satisfying. So, being a black belt means that you are maintaining your strength in your body and nurturing your youthful heart. Here is a part of the essay written by Thomas Lynch, 3rd Degree Black Belt. He concluded his essay by writing,

“I’d like to thank my mom for enrolling me in Tae Kwon Do at the age of four, and taking Tae Kwon Do with me. I’d also like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Lightfoot for putting up with me when I was a crazy little kid back in the day. Without their faith in me, I would not be standing here today. Thanks for a great 10 years, and here’s to many more.” (http://leadbyexampletaekwondo.com/benefits/testimonials/thomasl.html)

Taekwondo has been a great activity for my family. Just riding to and from the classes together with my kids has been fun. Sharing about Taekwondo has brought us much closer than any other activities that we have done. There are only two kinds of people in this world. Either you are a black belt or you are not. Once you are a black belt you are forever recognized as a black belt. Quitting at blue belt in Taekwondo is never mentioned as a person’s list of accomplishments. The legacy was left from my grandfather to us. Being a black belt means that I can continue that legacy down to my kids. Becoming a black belt along with my kids will always remain as the biggest accomplishments in my life. One of the most important reasons of becoming a black belt for me is that I will be able to continue this common bond with my kids forever. To me that is priceless. I have observed that most students stop training once they reach their black belt as if they are graduating. I like to tell them that black belt means that we have just learned the basics and it’s a new beginning. Becoming a black belt means reaching a fork in the road that will start a new journey. The kicks have to improve; the forms have to be done with more precise stances and more life lessons to be learned inside dojang. I was told by a professor that when he was conferred his PhD degree, his mentor told him that it’s only a license to do further research and continue to learn on his own without supervision. He emphasized that the degree wasn’t to show that now he knew everything. I know there are so much more to be learned. That’s why black belts are given as 1st dan and not as 9th dan in Taekwondo. Even as a black belt, one must maintain the commitment to learn as if you were a lower colored belt. Written by Dan titled: Does your black belt define you, or do you define it? He concludes by writing,

“It’s the opinion of other martial artists which are most influenced by the ‘dilution effect.’ Telling other martial artists that you have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do means little if anything (I believe this effect has most damaged Tae Kwon Do). This, of course, is not limited to Tae Kwon Do, but applies, to some degree, to all styles and schools. The people that truly know what your black belt is worth, is your fellow students, and your instructor. Finally, you are the only person in the entire world that understands what your black belt means.” (http://roxomedia.wordpress.com/blackbelt/)

Quoting,

“Respect has a great importance in everyday life. As children we are taught (one hopes) to respect our parents, teachers, and elders, school rules and traffic laws, family and cultural traditions, other people’s differing opinions. And we come to value respect for such things; when we’re older, we may shake our heads (or fists) at people who seem not to have learned to respect them. We develop great respect for people we consider exemplary and lose respect for those we discover to be clay-footed, and so we may try to respect only those who are truly worthy of respect. We may also come to believe that, at some level, all people are worthy of respect. We may learn that jobs and relationships become unbearable if we receive no respect in them; in certain social milieus we may learn the price of disrespect if we violate the street law: “Diss me, and you die.” Calls to respect this or that are increasingly part of public life: environmentalists exhort us to respect nature, foes of abortion and capital punish insist on respect for human life, members of racial and ethnic minorities and those discriminated against because of their gender, sexual orientation, age, religious beliefs, or economic status demand respect both as social and moral equals and for their cultural differences. And it is widely acknowledged that public debates about such demands should take place under terms of mutual respect. We may learn both that our lives together go better when we respect the things that deserve to be respected and that we should respect some things independently of considerations of how our lives would go.” (http://plato.standord.edu/entries/respect/)

Black belt means to me ‘respect.” I believe that because I have the respect for what Taekwondo is and all that encompasses, I was able to reach to black belt. Without that respect that I have gained along the way, I probably would have given up and stopped training. Training in Taekwondo has a mystic quality. It feels like I did not become a black belt but that Taekwondo slowly transformed me into a black belt. It is hard to explain with words. Taekwondo deserves the utmost respect. The advancements in ranks were exciting and challenging. But, there had to been more than obtaining that next belt. The whole training process has been a humbling experience for me. And, I realize that it was the respect for Taekwondo and what Taekwondo represents that helped me persevere through the training to reach the black belt. At the end, it will be the respect for my black belt that will further me along in ranks. The understanding what respect is and more precisely what “mutual respect” represents, is what I believe to be the true meaning of being a black belt in Taekwondo. The black belt in Taekwondo signifies “mutual respect.” A mutual respect is the only way that will lead to positive results in everything we do. At the end of each class, all students recite the 10 commandments of Taekwondo. The black belts should add as 11th commandment “respect your black belt.”

Victory didn’t use to be part of the tenets of Taekwondo. At some point in time they added it as a tenet, giving us six Taekwondo tenets to guide our lives by.

What is Victory? It is a tenet that tells us to have a positive outlook on things. Regardless of how bad things seem to be, there is always a silver lining in those dark looming clouds. In simple terms, it is a way of having a positive mental state, and always having a “can do” attitude.

You could also say victory can be directly tied to our attitude towards things. If you are pessimistic, then you definitely aren’t exercising victory. If you are optimistic, then there is a good chance you are applying the tenet of victory.

Here are examples that show a case where victory is lacking, and where victory is applied, respectively:

John is getting ready to test for his black belt. He is feeling a bit edgy because the final test day is coming and he is thinking that the test will be extremely difficult. He is particularly afraid of failing to break the dreaded one inch brick. He continues to get anxious and nervous as the day of testing draws near, and in the process fails to prepare for it. As a result, he failed to pass on his first attempt at black belt testing.

Jane on the other hand is excited that she is finally getting tested for black belt. After all, she’ll been training many years to get to where she is now. With the testing only weeks away, Jane prepares for the test by constantly practicing her forms, self-defense techniques, and many other things that she knows will be on the black belt test. She thinks that no matter what happens, as long as she does her best in preparing for the test, there is really nothing to be worried about. And if for some reason she fails, she’ll find out what to fix for the next test.

Can you tell the difference between John and Jane? How do their attitudes differ, and which attitude is conducive towards their upcoming black belt testing?

You are correct if you noticed that Jane has a definite advantage over John, just in their outlook on things and what they are doing about their situation. If I were to bet on who passes the test, I see Jane as having a significant advantage over John. John has already imposed roadblocks on himself through his negative attitude, while Jane just prepares for the test.

The above is just a simple example of how victory can help in your day to day lives. It doesn’t have to just apply to Taekwondo. You can use it at school, at home, and anywhere else you happen to be, and under any situation.

I’m glad they, whomever they are, added victory as a tenet of Taekwondo, because with it we have hope.